Video game-themed Disney children's film Wreck-It Ralph took another step towards the Oscars at the weekend after proving the big winner at the annual Annie awards for animated film-making.

The ceremony's 40th edition saw the film take the coveted best animated feature prize, as well as best director for Rich Moore, best music, voice acting and writing in an animated feature. The winner of the Annie for best film often goes on to take the Oscar for best animated film, where Wreck-It Ralph will this year compete against Pixar's Brave, Dreamworks' Rise of the Guardians, Disney's Frankenweenie, Laika's ParaNorman and Aardman's The Pirates!

Other winners at the Annie ceremony included Brave, which won best production design and editorial in an animated feature, and ParaNorman, which won two character animation prizes. Rise of the Guardians also did well, taking prizes for animated effects and storyboarding.

Wreck-It Ralph centres on a video-game villain who decides to abscond from his own arcade machine in the hope of finding a scenario in which he can appear as a hero. Featuring the voices of John C Reilly and Sarah Silverman, it hit US cinemas last November but is not due in the UK until Friday.

Terry Gilliam was one of three winners of the special Winsor McCay award, which rewards lifetime achievement in animation. Appearing via video link to accept the prize "on behalf of the deceased", he told the audience at the ceremony at UCLA in California: "Gilliam was a cheap little thief."